Still Secret: 28 Pages That Could Change Our Understanding of 9/11
The inquiry is thought to point to who financed the attack.
— -- A bipartisan group of congressmen joined with 9/11 family members today to renew efforts to declassify 28 pages of a joint congressional inquiry into the worst terrorist attack against the United States.
The information, redacted by President George W. Bush, is believed to point to allegations that Saudi Arabia may have assisted in financing the 9/11 terrorists.
“The 28 pages primarily relate to who financed 9/11 and they point a very strong finger at Saudi Arabia as being the principal financier,” said former Sen. Bob Graham, D-Florida, who co-chaired the inquiry and helped to write the report.
Saudi Arabia has denied any involvement. The report in question is the Joint Inquiry Into Intelligence Activities Before and After the Terrorists Attacks of September 2001. It was an investigation by House and Senate committees, released in December 2002.
“The position of the United States government has been to protect Saudi Arabia,” former senator Graham contended.
“At virtually every step of the judicial process, when the United States government was called upon to take a position, it has been a position adverse to the interests of United States citizens seeking justice and protective of the government which, in my judgment, was the most responsible for that network of support,” Graham said, referring to Saudi Arabia.
Today, Graham joined Reps. Walter Jones, R-North Carolina, and Stephen Lynch, D-Massachusetts, who introduced legislation calling on President Obama to declassify the 28 pages.
Terry Strada, of 9/11 Families United for Justice, whose husband was killed in the World Trade Center attack, wants the pages made public.
“Where is the outrage, I want to know that Saudi Arabia, a country, our supposed ally, not only bankrolled al Qaeda and the worst terror attack on U.S. soil, but was also instrumental in implementing an intricate web of operatives in numerous places around the world,” Strada told the group gathered at the Capitol.
The reasoning for classifying the pages was that if the information was made public it would hamper U.S. efforts to conduct foreign policy and fight the war on terror. Twelve years later, growing voices say the public has a right to know.
“I do not understand how you can have a strong foreign policy when you are trying to hide the truth from the American people,” said Rep. Jones, a co-sponsor of the bill to declassify the report.
If the information becomes public, it could give 9/11 victims cause to sue Saudi Arabia in the U.S. courts.
“Where is the indignation that 9/11 victims' families and survivors have been denied the right to hold accountable any United States courtroom the people responsible for the incineration of nearly 3,000 people?” asked Strada.
President Obama reportedly has told 9/11 family members that he wants to make the information public, but he has not yet done so in his six years in office.